Australian Jewish families in Israel to defy Labor warnings to leave

Australian Jews in Israel are defying new Albanese government warnings to get out of the country, saying they feel safer there facing Hezbollah rockets than anti-Semitism at home.

David and Tami Rich with children Yona, Nili and Gali.

You can now listen to The Australian's articles. Give us your feedback.

You can now listen to The Australian's articles.

Australian Jews in Israel are defying new Albanese government warnings to get out of the country while they still can, saying they feel safer there facing Hezbollah rockets than facing anti-Semitism on the streets at home.

Sydney Rabbi Yossi Friedman, who arrived in Jerusalem just days ago with his wife and five children, dismissed the updated travel advice, declaring: “We feel strong and safe where we are.”

“How safe are many Jews currently feeling in Sydney with the massive increase in anti-Semitism since October 7?” he said.

“I’ve spoken to many Jews in Australia who don’t feel safe. Many are taking off their Stars of David. Many are feeling fearful at home and believe the government isn’t doing enough to stamp out raging anti-Semitism.”

Rabbi Friedman said he and his family would remain in Israel for the next 2½ weeks, “letting people know we are thinking about them and praying for them, and telling them they are not alone”.

“It’s a challenging time and to be here in Israel now, I feel privileged,” he told The Australian.

His comments came less than 24 hours after the government’s Smartraveller website warned Australians in Israel to “leave while commercial flights remain available, border crossings are open and while it’s safe to do so”.

Sydney Rabbi Yossi Friedman with his wife and five children in Jerusalem. Picture: Instagram

Dual Australian-Israeli citizen Tami Rich scoffed at the warning, even as she and her family remained on alert for fresh Hezbollah rocket attacks on their town of Zichron Yaakov, south of Haifa.

“As scary as this is – even now the planes are flying overhead and I’m hearing the booms of the Iron Dome constantly – at the same time I feel protected,” the Sydney-born Holocaust studies lecturer told The Australian.

“But when I look at what is going on in Australia; when I see the hatred spewing out of people’s mouths at protests in Sydney and see the police just standing there, I say to myself ‘the authorities do not protect the Jews in Australia. Australia is tolerating outright hate speech’.”

Ms Rich, on a study tour at Auschwitz in Poland the day before last year’s terrorist attack on Israel, said she had scrambled to return to her adopted country then and would not flee now.

“What people miss is that for Jews, this has happened to us for thousands of years. It’s in our DNA,” she said.

Another Australian woman, who declined to be identified amid fears her Melbourne business would be targeted by protesters, said she and her family would also remain in Israel for the time being.

“I’m not rushing to the airport because Penny Wong says so,” she said.

“I feel 100 times safer here as a Jew as I would walking around Melbourne’s northern suburbs or the streets of western Sydney.”

The woman, who is staying with family in a town near Tel Aviv, said she woke on Tuesday to messages from home citing the new travel advice.

“We were like, what is everyone talking about? It sounds a lot worse overseas.”

Despite regular rocket warnings, she said Israelis were going about their daily lives. “We went to an open-air concert last night. The feeling of community and resilience is unbelievable. They just celebrate life here.”

The government’s new travel advice came a day after a Hezbollah drone attack killed four Israeli soldiers and injured more than 60 others, and followed similar warnings and assisted flights for Australians in Lebanon.

Special flights are yet to be offered to Australians in Israel as there are still commercial options for those wanting to leave the country.

Jewish groups were surprised at the decision to upgrade the warning, given Israel had suffered near-daily rocket attacks since October 7 last year.

Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-CEO Alex Ryvchin said he wasn’t surprised Australian Jews in Israel were reluctant to leave.

“It’s the tenacity of a small country that has defended itself over and over again,” he said. “Coupled with the uncertainty about the reasons for the change in the government’s travel advisory at this moment, it is predictable that many Australians currently in Israel will not be rushing home.”